Blastoise Mega Battle
LONG LOST FOOTAGE!? Thanks to our friends over at Ruby Retro, we have the first ever known recorded "livestream" footage of an official Pokémon TCG tournament in history, that was long thought to have been a myth! The 1998 Kamex (Blastoise) Mega Battle!
The Blastoise Mega Battle was the second ever Nationals-like TCG event that took place in Japan, long before the trading card game's international release. Pokémon trainers competed in Regional Qualifier events for a chance to earn an invitation to play in the Blastoise Mega Battle. Qualifying players met at the "TV Tokyo" headquarters to battle it out, deciding the winner. The below footage is from a broadcast that was shown on September 10, 1998, airing the finals matches. This footage has not existed anywhere else on the internet and has been unseen by anyone for nearly 25 years, until today!
If you'd like to learn more about the Blastoise Mega Battle and the qualifier events leading up to it, pokumon.com has some fascinating details on it here. And of course, you HAVE to watch Ruby Retro's special coverage of this event!
The event's broadcast begins with the video game finals, played via Pokémon Stadium N64. The TCG matches begin at the 8 minute mark, where they first show the players arriving by bus, followed by the games that were broadcasted (pre-recorded) in a sped up fashion, cutting to the more "exciting" moments of each match. Enjoy!
Wasn't that amazing! Please consider subscribing to Ruby Retro's YouTube channel for making this happen, and thank you to the anonymous source that had this footage recorded and saved for all of these years prior to finally sharing it with the community.
If you'd like to learn more about a similar format like what was played in the Blastoise Mega Battle, consider starting here with our decks from Base Set - Gym Era or even check out the results of the 2000 Super Trainer Showdown (New Jersey).
Hope you enjoyed this piece of historic footage and thank you for the support, until next time trainers!
